Luther had good issues and he was right to get attention. Pope Leo X accepted about 54 of Luther's theses, and rejected 41. Later on the Catholic Church also had an internal reformation ... it was proper, but from the stand point of many who joined the reformation under Luther, it was too little, too late. Today, there is a measure of recognition and harmony between Rome and the Lutherans ... for example, if a Catholic wishes to marry a Lutheran, they can have a joint ceremony with blessings from both a Lutheran Pastor and Catholic Priest.
But, Luther was not correct in everything. Of the remaining 41 Theses rejected, Pope Leo X did have the best scholars and theologians review them, and determine the results. So, Luther's issues were not rejected out of hand without study and good consideration. Unfortunately, the facts of history are not fully carried through, and often only one-sided statements get reported.
As a Catholic, I find much agreement with Luther's concerns ... and on some he was incorrect. Initially, Luther was only seeking discussion. He never dreamed in his wildest imagination that his Theses would become so popular so fast. This is due in part to the development of the printing press, which accelerated the spread of information ... it only took about a month or so for all of Europe to hear of or read his Theses ... his These were originally intended for a local debate.
Should Luther have waited on the Church to change? Today, a Catholic would be hard pressed to find the Church engaged in any of the things to which Luther objected, save a very few. The Church started its own reformation about 40 years later in 1560, and it lasted into the 1640s. In this period it was very fast for the Church. It was likely too slow for Luther ... but it did change. I believe that Luther had to follow his conscience first ... as this is how God will judge him. But, I also believe that those who stayed with the Church, including the leaders, had every right to follow their conscience. Objectively examining history, the Church did a fairly good job of responding and reforming over time, the the Diet of Worms, but today's standards, was a bit excessive. These developments are something that you will not see from the Watchtower toward the hundreds of "Theses" from ex-JWs.
Luther was overwhelmed by the Reformation. It soon progressed from a religious dispute to a Continent-wide demand for social revolution. The reformation perhaps was needed as a way to vent the need for change ... and change did happen ... not always for the better. Luther would have been happy just to see the Church reform ... and in a way, it is too bad he could not have lived to see it.
What finally happened to Luther? He was declared an outlaw by the Edict of Worms, but it was never really enforced, and he was protected by a German Prince. Luther never left his province in Germany again. Instead he married, an ex-nun named Katharine von Bora, whom he had helped to escape from her nunnery and they had a large family together, Luther was able to devote himself to the simpler pleasures of life, gardening, music and of course, writing. Luther finally died in the year 1543, seized by a crippling heart attack but he held onto his righteousness and rage until the very end. "When I die, I want to be a ghost...So I can continue to pester the bishops, priests and godless monks until that they have more trouble with a dead Luther than they could have had before with a thousand living ones."http://www.pbs.org/empires/martinluther/about_relu.html
